AP/ESPN (“All soccer players, coach out of flooded Thailand cave“):
Thai navy SEALs say all 12 soccer players and their coach have been rescued from a flooded cave, ending an ordeal that lasted more than two weeks.
The SEALs posted on their Facebook page Tuesday that the rescue operation was successful, after earlier posting that the first player of the day was out of the cave at 4:06 p.m. local time (5:06 a.m. ET).
A medic and three Thai navy SEALs had stayed with the boys on a small, dry shelf deep in the flooded cave and are due to come out as well.
Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn had said earlier Tuesday that the day’s effort might take longer than the previous two rescue missions, but the final four players and coach were out of the cave within 10 hours of the operation’s start. The first day took 11 hours.
Heavy rains in the morning cleared during the day, a reassuring sign for rescuers who feared monsoon rains could imperil the rescue.
The eight boys brought out by divers over the previous two days are in “high spirits” and have strong immune systems because they are soccer players, a senior health official said.
Great news. Considering that as recently as last week some experts believed it could be months before conditions were suitable for the rescue, it’s truly remarkable that the SEALs were able to complete it so quickly. Even a couple of hours ago, the announced plan was to try and get four more people out today, leaving one person, presumably the coach, for another time.
